Central to the University of Waterlooโs mission is the creation and dissemination of knowledge. As new scholars, graduate students are expected to disclose and publicly defend their research results to ensure review from their peers and acceptance and inclusion of their findings in open scholarly discourse. At times, graduate students may wish to protect their research results, particularly when they contain material of commercial or marketable value, or when restricted by a publication agreement. Similarly, students may require accessibility accommodations or engage in sensitive research areas which may present personal risks. These unique circumstances may result in a thesis and/or thesis defence being Held Without Public Disclosure.
The following theses have been submitted toย the Faculty of Science Graduate Officeย and are available, unless otherwise noted, for review by any member of the University during the display period only. The display period is the time between the posting of the thesis and the examination date.
Fall 2025 PhD Defences
Wednesday, September 3, 2025 at 2:30:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Molly CHEN
Title: Microbial Diversity and Potential for Biogeochemical Cycling in Heavy Metal Contaminated Environments
Supervisor: Laura Hug
Department: Biology
Location/Method: B1 266 and Remote via MS TEAMS
Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Nicolas CRESTO
Title: Asymptotic Higher Spin Symmetries: Noether Realization & Algebraic Structure in Einstein-Yang-Mills Theory
Supervisor: Robert Myers and Laurent Freidel
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 308
Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 10:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Rosie SMITH
Title: Life history and migration patterns of Arctic Char (๐๐ข๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด) and Dolly Varden (๐๐ข๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐ข) in the Coppermine River and Coronation Gulf
Supervisor: Heidi Swanson
Department: Biology
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Stรฉphane VINET
Title: Towards satellite-assisted quantum communication with reconfigurable networks and frequency-bin qubits
Supervisor: Thomas Jennewein
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: QNC 2101
Monday, September 8, 2025 at 10:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Mohamed ABORIG
Title: Theranostic Gold Nanoparticles for Enhanced Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy
Supervisor: Shawn Wettig
Department: School of Pharmacy
Location/Method: PHR 7007
Monday, September 8, 2025 at 1:30:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Mengqi LU
Title: Explorations in Generalized Quasi-topological Gravities
Supervisor: Robert Mann
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 352
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Johanna BORISSOVA
Title: Theory and phenomenology of area-metric gravity
Supervisor: Bianca Dittrich
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 308
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 at 10:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Alexander HICKEY
Title: Fluctuation-induced order and thermal transport in frustrated quantum magnets
Supervisor: Michel Gingras and Anton Burkov
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 352
Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Valentina WONG BENITO
Title: Impact of Temperature on the Antigen Presentation pathway in VHSV-infected Rainbow Trout (๐๐ฏ๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฉ๐บ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ๐ถ๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฌ๐ช๐ด๐ด)
Supervisor: Brian Dixon
Department: Biology
Location/Method: B1 266
Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Shengde YU
Title: Integrated analysis of global lakes and reservoirs: Global reservoirs modeling database, climate-driven changes in thermal stratification, depth-area-volume relationships, dam operation, and downstream phosphorus export
Supervisor: Philippe Van Cappellen
Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Location/Method: EIT 2053
Friday, September 12, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Amir ARQAND
Title: Information-Theoretic Tools for Analyzing Non-IID Structures in Quantum Key Distribution
Supervisor: Norbert Lรผtkenhaus
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: QNC 2101
Wednesday, September 17, 2025 at 10:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Mila ABAEVA
Title: Multimetallic Complexes Supported by an Unsymmetrical Imidazopyrimidine-Based Ligand: Synthesis, Characterization, and Catalytic Studies
Supervisor: Derek Schipper
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Thursday, September 18, 2025 at 10:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Taillte MAY
Title: Black hole perturbations beyond the leading order
Supervisor: Luis Lehner and William East
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Monday, September 29, 2025 at 10:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Alex LIU
Title: Dual Characterization of Hydrophobically Modified Polyamidoamine Dendrimers and their Surfactant Aggregate Hosts by Pyrene Excimer Fluorescence
Supervisor: Jean Duhamel
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361 and Remote via MS TEAMS
Thursday, October 2, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Connor KAPAHI
Title: Structured Wavefunctions for Precision Quantum Metrology
Supervisor: David Cory and Dmitry Pushin
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 308 and Remote via MS TEAMS
Friday, October 24, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Gab IZMA
Title: Monitoring risk from contaminant mixtures in stormwater with water quality measurements, bioassays, and bioassessment
Supervisor: Rebecca Rooney
Department: Biology
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Thursday, October 30, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Benjamin MACLELLAN
Title: Machine learning for quantum sensing
Supervisor: Roger Melko
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method:ย QNC 2101
Thursday, October 30, 2025 at 10:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Chenxi WANG
Title: Integration of Borehole Geophysical Logging with Hydraulic Tomography Analysis for Groundwater Flow and Transport Predictions
Supervisor: Walter Illman
Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Location/Method: EIT 2053
Tuesday, November 4, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Yoni RYUH
Title: Isotopic Study of Bromine: Determining Bromine Isotope Fractionation During Evaporation and Diagenesis
Supervisor: Randy Stotler
Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Location/Method: STC 2002
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Dyuman BHATTACHARYA
Title: Quantum Fields in Curved Spacetimes: From Detector Entanglement to Black Hole Thermodynamics
Supervisor: Robert Mann
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Atiyeh AHMADI
Title: Microfluidics meet predictive modeling: spatiotemporal characterization of antagonism in bacterial communities
Supervisor: Brian Ingalls
Department: Biology
Location/Method: RCH 212
Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 9:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Garima LAKHANPAL
Title: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Nitrogen Management in Dairy Systems
Supervisor: Nandita Basu and Owen Fenton
Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Location/Method: E2 - 2350
Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 3:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Yousef ROHANIZADEGAN
Title: A Neural-network-based Solver for the Three Dimensional Shape of Vesicle Membranes
Supervisor: Jeff Chen
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Friday, December 5, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Delaney NASH
Title: Detection and Characterization of Viruses in the Environment Using Established and Novel Sequencing Approaches
Supervisor: Trevor Charles and Jozef Nissimov
Department: Biology
Location/Method: STC 2002
Friday, December 5, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Franklin FRASCA
Title: Polymeric Oil Additives and their Small Molecule Analogues Studied via Pyrene Excimer Fluorescence
Supervisor: Jean Duhamel
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Monday, December 8, 2025 at 10:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Artem ZHUTOV
Title: Systems and Control Protocols for Universal Neutral Atom-Array Quantum Processor
Supervisor: David Cory and Alexandre Cooper-Roy
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: QNC 2101
Monday, December 8, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Nikhil BARUA
Title: Machine Learning Approaches for Thermoelectric Performance Predictions
Supervisor: Holger Kleinke
Department: Chemistry
Note: Held Without Public Disclosure
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 9:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Hasti FIROOZMAND
Title: The Enhancement and Optimization of COโ Sequestration in Saline Aquifers
Supervisor: Yuri Leonenko
Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Caleb RYAN
Title: Personality, Individuality, and the Social Lives of Bats
Supervisor: Hugh Broders
Department: Biology
Location/Method: B1 266
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 10:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Shlok NAHAR
Title: A proof-technique-independent framework for detector imperfections in QKD
Supervisor: Norbert Lรผtkenhaus
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: QNC 2101
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 10:00:00 AM
PhD Candidate: Jesse ST. JEAN
Title: The examination of bacteriophage M13-based miniphagemids as a platform for the delivery of genetic material for neuronal applications
Supervisor: Roderick Slavcev
Department: School of Pharmacy
Location/Method: School of Pharmacy Rm 2009
Thursday, December 11, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
PhD Candidate: Ali SYED
Title: Evaluating Pharmacy Studentsโ Practice Readiness: Insights from Academic and Experiential Performance at University of Waterloo
Supervisor: Sherilyn Houle and Nancy Waite
Department: School of Pharmacy
Location/Method: School of Pharmacy Rm 7007
Fall 2025 MSc Defences
Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 12:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Shubham Devesh RAMGOOLAM
Title: The Effects of Sequence Variations in the Structural Dynamics and Ligand Interactions of Main Proteases in Betacoronaviruses
Supervisor: Subha Kalyaanamoorthy and Aravindhan Ganesan
Department: School of Pharmacy
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Cody NADEMI
Title: Temperature Dependence of 1/f Charge Noise Coupled to a Quantum Dot Confined in a 2DHG
Supervisor: Jan Kycia
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 352
Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 1:30:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Alice ALEX
Title: Towards the synthesis of coinage metal chalcogen compounds stabilized by a bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene
Supervisor: John Corrigan
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Thursday, September 4, 2025 at 2:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Laura ANDERSON
Title: Hydrological responses of critical aquatic habitat in Wood Buffalo National Park for the worldโs only naturally reproducing migratory population of whooping crane to past climate variation
Supervisor: Roland Hall and Brent Wolfe
Department: Biology
Location/Method: STC 2002
Friday, September 5, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Ashita BIDARKAR
Title: Electroretinogram responses following short-term chromatic light adaptation in high myopes and non-myopes
Supervisor: Vivian Choh and Daphne McCulloch
Department: School of Optometry and Vision Science
Location/Method: OPT 350
Friday, September 5, 2025 at 10:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Nickolas MESICH
Title: The Quaternary stratigraphy of the Gods and Yakaw rivers area, northeastern Manitoba
Supervisor: Martin Ross and Michelle Gauthier
Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Location/Method: EIT 2053
Monday, September 8, 2025 at 9:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Katie HETTINGA
Title: Evaluating remote sensing and modeling approaches for estimating net ecosystem exchange in Canadian peatlands
Supervisor: Fereidoun Rezanezhad and Philippe Van Cappellen
Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Location/Method: EIT 2053
Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 11:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Ali Mustafa KHATAI
Title: Vacuum assembly, atomic source development, and micromotion studies for a trapped Ba+ based quantum processor
Supervisor: Kazi Rajibul Islam
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 352
Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 3:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Robert BRILL
Title: Synthesis and Analysis of Daptomycin Analogues
Supervisor: Scott Taylor
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 11:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Noah ROGOZYNSKI
Title: Development of a novel assay for the characterization of germination responses in microsporidian parasites: An investigation into the biology of ๐๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด
Supervisor: Brian Dixon
Department: Biology
Location/Method: STC 2002
Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Anja SKROBONJA
Title: Impact of phosphorus enrichment patterns on stream periphyton microbial communities
Supervisor: Adam Yates and Josh Neufeld
Department: Biology
Location/Method: B1 266
Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Cassandra HUYNH
Title: ๐๐ฏ ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ฐ and ๐๐ฏ ๐ท๐ช๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ Discovery of Plant-Based Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Inhibitors
Supervisor: William Ngo
Department: School of Optometry and Vision Science
Location/Method: School of Optometry Rm 350
Friday, September 12, 2025 at 9:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Griffin HOWSON
Title: Multiphase Competition and Quantum Moment Fragmentation in Dipolar-Octupolar Pyrochlore Materials
Supervisor: Michel Gingras
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 308
Friday, September 12, 2025 at 1:30:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Michael BURKE
Title: From Spin Vorticity Models to Spin Liquids on the Octochlore Lattice
Supervisor: Michel Gingras
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 308
Monday, September 15, 2025 at 11:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Nithin AARON
Title: Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulations of Flexible Water Clusters with Normal-Mode Sampling in Jacobi Coordinates
Supervisor: Pierre-Nicholas Roy
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 374
Monday, September 15, 2025 at 2:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Rashaad REID
Title: The Dynamical States and Mass Accretion Histories of Galaxy Clusters in IllustrisTNG
Supervisor: James Taylor
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 374
Friday, September 26, 2025 at 12:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Soorna CHOHEILI
Title: Translocation-Induced Shape Transitions in Vesicles using a Neural Network-Based Solver for the Helfrich Model
Supervisor: Jeff Chen
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 374
Friday, October 3, 2025 at 9:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Darshak PATEL
Title: The Dependence of Halo Mass on Galaxy Size at Fixed Stellar Mass and Colour using Galaxy-Galaxy Lensing
Supervisor: Mike Hudson
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 352
Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 3:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Riley WOODS
Title: Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of Multimetallic Complexes Supported by an Imidazopyrimidine-Based Trinucleating Ligand
Supervisor: Derek Schipper
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Natalie SCHNEIDER
Title: Stream periphyton response to phosphorus loading events is constrained by antecedent conditions
Supervisor: Adam Yates
Department: Biology
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at 12:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Magalie GALARNEAU
Title: Examining the Effects of Traits on Early-Establishment Tree Communities Under Different Soil Water Conditions
Supervisor: Julie Messier
Department: Biology
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Monday, November 24, 2025 at 8:30:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Sahar KHAKNESHIN
Title: Bioptic Telescopic Spectacles and Driving Rehabilitation for People with Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Pilot Project
Supervisor: Tammy Labreche and Shamrozรฉ Khan
Department: School of Optometry and Vision Science
Location/Method: Optometry Rm 350
Thursday, November 27, 2025 at 1:30:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Agnes KATAI
Title: Computational Insights into the Corrosion Behavior of NbTaMoW and NbTaMoWV High-Entropy Alloys in Molten Fluoride Salts
Supervisor: Conrad Giresse Tetsassi Fuegmo
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Friday, November 28, 2025 at 11:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Liahm RUEST
Title: Liminal Habitats: An Investigation of Stormwater Management Facilities in Urban and Suburban Kitchener-Waterloo
Supervisor: Rebecca Rooney
Department: Biology
Location/Method: Remote via MS TEAMS
Friday, November 28, 2025 at 3:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Martine CAMPBELL
Title: Revisiting the โLensing is Lowโ Problem With UNIONS
Supervisor: Mike Hudson
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 352
Monday, December 1, 2025 at 2:30:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Stephen WANG
Title: Mine Tailings as Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Multi-Site Investigation Incorporating Isotopic Signatures
Supervisor: Carol Ptacek and David Blowes
Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Location/Method: EIT 2053
Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Anastasiia KURNOSOVA
Title: Investigating the Potential Role of Pic2 protein in Mitochondrial Copper Transport using ๐๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ข๐ฆ
Supervisor: Moira Glerum
Department: Biology
Location/Method: B1 - 266
Friday, December 5, 2025 at 12:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Julian MEUNIER
Title: Micro-Calorimeter X-Ray Spectroscopy of Galaxy Clusters using the XRISM X-Ray Observatory
Supervisor: Brian McNamara
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 352
Monday, December 8, 2025 at 3:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Gyeongsu KIM
Title: Total Synthesis and Stereochemical Assignment of Turnercyclamycin C
Supervisor: Scott Taylor
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 278
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 10:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Mehraveh HOSSEINALI
Title: Development of Hybrid Non-Enveloped Viral Vectors Using Bacterial Miniphagemid Platform
Supervisor: Roderick Slavcev and Marc Aucoin
Department: School of Pharmacy
Location/Method:ย Remote
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 10:30:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Shayna MEINZINGER
Title: The Forces Behind the Flux: Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and Nitrous Oxide Dynamics and Their Environmental Drivers in Restored Agricultural Wetlands
Supervisor: Tonya DelSontro
Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Note: Held Without Public Audience
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 11:00:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Jordan FRANCIS
Title: The Contributions of ESRP1 to the Functions of the Intestinal Epithelium
Supervisor: Natoya Peart
Department: Biology
Location/Method: PHY 150
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 2:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Carolyn CHEN
Title: Studies on the Characterization and Measurement Optimization of Superconducting Microwave Resonators
Supervisor: Jan Kycia
Department: Physics and Astronomy
Location/Method: PHY 352
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 9:30:00 AM
MSc Candidate: Karyman Ahmed Fawzy GHANEM
Title: Addressing Informal Caregiver Burden: Technology and Toolkit for Medication Management in Older Adult
Supervisor: Tejal Patel
Department: School of Pharmacy
Location/Method: Pharmacy PHR 7007
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Alexander LI
Title: Polyelectrolyte templated synthesis and formation behavior of high entropy alloys
Supervisor: Vivek Maheshwari
Department: Chemistry
Location/Method: C2 361
Friday, December 12, 2025 at 1:00:00 PM
MSc Candidate: Jordan LAU
Title: Development and Evaluation of Hydrophobic Catalysts for Deuterium Enrichment in a Gas-Vapor Reactor
Supervisor: Rodney Smith
Department: Chemistry
Note: Held Without Public Disclosure